Survey Says: Telecommuters Happier, Healthier, Better Balanced

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These days, working from home is starting to look better and better — not only for workers, but also for companies. There are just so many reasons that it makes better business sense. While only six percent of Americans already work from home full-time, according to a recent Career Builder survey, it is expected to reach 63 million in the United States by 2016, predicts a March 2009 report by Forrester Research, Inc.There are still some businesses that swear by working in an office together, but research is now showing that telecommuters are gaining recognition in many ways. There are environmental perks, money savingsand, most of all, happier employees!Let’s take a look at why working from home can make you happier, healthier and better balanced:

Telecommuters & Happiness

Aside from the obvious things that would make you happy, such as cutting your commute time and having more ‘you’ time, there are astronomical cost savings associated with it on a national level. The Telework Research Network studies show that 40 percent of American jobs are compatible with telecommuting, and if those people worked from home just half of their work week:

We would save more than $15 billion in gas at the pumps.

We would save $12 billion per year in accident-related costs.

Employees would save between $1,800 and $6,800 in transportation and work-related costs, including child care expenses.

Americans would save more than $650 billion a year total!

This would, of course, make for some very happy people with more spending power! Furthermore, companies would incur huge cost savings — and there are two main points to make here on that note:

It would save businesses more than $200 billion (more than $10,000 per employee) through all the different amenities that they would no longer need in running an office.

National productivity would be increased by 5.5 million man-years or $235 billion worth of work.

According to survey conducted by Staples Advantage, all of these factors make employees more loyal. In fact, 76 percent of telecommuters are more willing to put in extra time on work and say they are more loyal to their company since telecommuting.

Telecommuters & Health

The Staples Advantage shows that there are a number of health advantages to working from home, such as:

Telecommuters say their stress levels have dropped 25 percent (on average) since working from home.

Seventy-three percent even say they eat healthier when working from home.

Telecommuters & Work-Life Balance

The Staples Advantage survey says that more than 80 percent of respondents who work from home say they now maintain a better work-life balance. With all of the extra time and money you will save, it will become easier to plan your work-life balance. So many people plan their lives around work, so why not shift that and balance it so you can have more fun?

It is pretty clear why so many businesses are starting to look at telecommuting as a viable money saving option, and it is no surprise that the projections for 2016 show that so many more employees will be working from home by then.

Would you want to work from home? If so, what are your main reasons? If not, why would you prefer to stay in the office?

Ryan Mack is a partner at TruYuu, an online service that helps people present themselves as more than just a resume to employers. You can connect with Ryan and the TruYuu team on Facebook and Twitter.